Infected State
by littlemisslibrarian
Summary: The final phase of the changeling invasion has begun, and Equestria is in turmoil. The Mane Six brave the horde to keep their families and friendships together in the midst of terror and deception. (borderline T rating, not much more violent than the show)
1. Chapter 1

Twilight Sparkle jumped, leaving a streak of ink across her scroll, as Spike burped green fire. A rolled, stamped scroll landed on her desk. "URGENT" was written on a tag on the ribbon. Twilight tilted her head and used her magic to unravel it. Hovering it in front of her face, she read aloud to an anxious Spike, who looked over her shoulder.  
"To all Princesses and mayors,  
"To be released immediately: A changeling has been discovered in Manehattan. We have not been able to learn how long it's been here or how many others there are, but we have reason to believe there are more than just one. Be careful who you trust, and warn all citizens. A safe zone is being set up in Canterlot, with reinforced shields."  
Twilight felt anxiety wrap itself around her chest. Spike noticed, and rolled up the scroll.  
"What's our first step? Make a list!"  
"Right. Thanks, Spike." Twilight cleared her desk and set out a new scroll. She held her pen in a purple aura and scribbled furiously.  
"First: Deliver scroll to Mayor Mare. Second: Call a town meeting. Third: Screen all citizens. Um..."  
"Okay, let's do that right now and figure the rest out later once we have more information."  
"I'm sorry, Spike. I shouldn't be so unprepared. But now is not the time to be beating myself up. Let's go!" Spike jumped on Twilight's back as the alicorn spread her wings, and they flew down the halls at breakneck speeds, narrowly avoiding the crystal walls. She burst through the heavy doors and heard them bang loudly against the sides of the cavernous castle. From up above, nothing looked unusual, and Twilight could almost imagine that she had never received the scroll. But now was not the time for wishful thinking. She dived down until she was nearly at ground level, and skidded to a halt in front of the town hall. She leaped up the stairs and knocked on the door, louder than she intended to. Spike held the scroll tightly in his claws.  
After a few seconds, Mayor Mare opened the door. She looked tired, and her gray mane was frizzy.  
"It's late, Princess. What's the matter?"  
"Did you receive the urgent message from Celestia the Royal Guard? Changelings are in Equestria! We need to call a town meeting now!"  
"Well that's quite the alarmist viewpoint. One changeling does not an invasion make."  
"You weren't in Canterlot when they swarmed Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding, so you don't know, but changelings can look and act like anypony. It might be nothing, but just to be safe we should gather everypony here so they can be screened. I know a spell that can reveal a changeling's true form."  
Twilight thought she saw a flicker of some unreadable emotion in the mayor's eyes. But it was gone when the mayor replied with her usual smile, "If it's nothing, then there's no need to alarm anypony. Besides, it can wait until morning. Now if you'll excuse me..." she trailed off and started to close the door. Twilight stuck her hoof in the door and narrowed her eyes. Her horn glowed and a beam of magic shot straight at Mayor Mare. The tan earth pony turned and ran away from the door, but the beam clipped her tail and revealed dark gray underneath.


	2. Chapter 2

Her suspicions confirmed, Twilight Sparkle didn't waste energy on another true form spell. She charged up her horn again and raced after the changeling, firing several stunning beams in a row. The changeling was always a step ahead. It shed the rest of its disguise to make use of its wings and flew to the top of the high-ceilinged room. Twilight flew up after it, but was weighed down by Spike, who had grown a surprising amount since the last time he rode on her back. She set Spike down on the balcony and cast a shield spell when the changeling tried to take advantage of her moment of distraction.  
"Stay here," she said as she flew after the changeling.  
"N-n-no problem," stammered Spike, stepping away from the overhanging balcony in case of structural damage.  
Twilight fired a scattered spray of stunning spells. The changeling dodged them all. Growling in frustration, she spun around in the air as the creature encircled her. She dived down and shot back up, catching it by surprise with a quick turn and another stunning spell. The changeling hovered unmoving in midair as Twilight levitated it to the ground and encased it in a pink-purple bubble shield. She broke the stunning spell, and immediately the changeling bounced all over the shield, which didn't budge.  
Twilight took a minute to catch her breath, then a translation spell flew from her glowing horn to her voicebox. In the changeling's native language, she asked, "How many are here in Equestria? Where is your queen?"  
"I'm not telling," the changeling spat, sitting in the middle of the bubble and looking at her balefully.  
"I have a truth spell," she bluffed. Actually, it was one of her weakest spells and she'd been meaning to practice it.  
"Do you really?"  
"Do you want to test me? Answer my questions and I'll let you go."  
"This is cruelty! I can't breathe in here!"  
"You can breathe fine. Shields aren't airtight."  
In response, the changeling just hissed.  
"If you won't answer, then I have other matters to attend to. I'll just leave you here while I find the real mayor." She started walking away.  
"You can't keep this shield up forever!"  
"Oh really? You wanna test that theory as well?"  
"You'll get tired eventually, and I'll break out of this bubble. There are more of us than you can possible imagine. More than you can count. And however many are in Equestria, there are twice as many in the hive."  
 **Author's Note: I always appreciate criticism. It helps me learn how to write better. Fight scenes are an area in which I am not very confident in my skill, so I would especially appreciate feedback with this chapter. Interrogations are another thing I'm new at and that I'm probably bad at.**


	3. Chapter 3

Twilight stopped. She looked up at the balcony. "Spike, go find the mayor and help her if she needs it." She heard Spike's feet running down the hallway. She turned back to the changeling. "I could always use that truth spell."  
"You don't really know one, do you? You act like you're better than everyone because you have wings and a horn, but you're just as clueless as the rest of your dumb species. But the great thing about simple minds is that they come with big hearts." It licked its lips. Twilight shuddered with disgust and anger. She shrank the bubble a bit, so that the changeling had just enough room to stand.  
"I'm serious. I will keep you here until you tell me what I need to know."  
"Is that any way for the princess of friendship to behave?"  
"You entered my country without permission, kidnapped a citizen, and impersonated them. That is an act of war."  
"And do you really think your friendship skills make you qualified to interrogate an enemy spy?"  
"Ah, so you admit you were spying."  
The changeling flinched. "And that's all you're getting out of me."  
"You were wrong before. I do have a truth spell." I just hope it works. Twilight Sparkle's horn pulsed with magic, and the changeling's voicebox glowed purple.  
"Now, how many of you are there?"  
The changeling kept its mouth clamped shut, but eventually it blurted out, "I don't know. I only know for sure of the ones in Ponyville. There are twenty five in Ponyville." It snapped its mouth shut and clapped its front hooves over its muzzle, eyes wide.  
Twilight sighed with relief that her spell worked, then her eyes widened when she did the math. With the population ratio in Ponyville, ponies still outnumbered changelings two to one, but she knew the ratio had to be higher in big cities. Changelings could easily equal ponies in number, and that wasn't counting the reinforcements in the hive.  
"So you do have a brain in that fuzzy head of yours," the changeling sneered.  
"Where is your queen," Twilight snarled.  
"In the North Mountains beyond Equestria," the changeling blurted out. It cursed under its breath.  
Twilight nodded curtly and dissolved the shield and broke the truth and translation spells. She opened the doors and the changeling buzzed its wings and flew away.  
Spike ran up to her, waving his arms with panic.  
"I can't find Mayor Mare anywhere!"  
Twilight gasped. She could be anywhere in Equestria, or beyond! Who knew how many others had disappeared without a trace?  
"Right. I'll call the town meeting," she said. She flew outside and spiraled up to the bell. She bucked it, then cringed as it rang in her ear. She flew down to stand in front of town hall. The whole town was there. She could tell by looking. She had known most of these ponies for years. But how long had she really known the real them? I should have asked the changeling how long they'd been there! she realized. She paced back and forth, unable to hide her anxiety. Then she noticed that everypony was staring at her, and forced herself to stand still. Her weight shifted from one hoof to the other and back again as she spoke.  
"Citizens of Ponyville, I am speaking to you in place of Mayor Mare because this is a matter of national importance." And also because she disappeared. No need to alarm them any more than they would be.  
She cleared her throat when it began to tighten, and continued: "Changelings have invaded Equestria. Nopony knows exactly how many there are or how long they've been here. But I have just recieved intel that there are twenty five here in Ponyville."  
Gasps of shock interrupted her and she felt tension spark through the crowd.  
"Everypony calm down and listen! We can deal with this! If everypony would get in a single file line so I can use a harmless true form spell, we can drive out the Ponyville changelings." Twilight scanned the crowd, watching especially on the outskirts for possible changelings trying to get away. Everypony thankfully formed an orderly line.  
Twilight beamed each pony with the true form spell, which felt like nothing more than a ray of warmth if one was not a changeling. Spike had informed her of this fact when she tested it on him during her studies. About halfway through, she felt lightheaded and her vision blurred. She forced her eyes to focus and keep an eye on the line. So far, nopony had been affected by the spell. Then Cheerilee and a group of her students stepped forward.


	4. Chapter 4

Before Twilight could use the spell, all ten of the group shed their illusions with fanged grins. The foal-sized changelings didn't have as many holes in their legs as the adults, Twilight observed. She wondered if the holes appeared with age.  
The changelings surrounded her and Spike in a tight circle. She cast an expanding shield spell that startled them enough for her to dart through a gap in the circle. She leaped into the air, Spike just clambering onto her back in time. She banked dangerously to the side as Spike slipped, brushing past buildings with barely a hair's breadth of air separating her head from solid brick. Finally she righted herself and shot into the air, away from the maze of the town and the ensuing chaos as several more changelings revealed themselves. The mental exhaustion still left her with a hazy head, and she could barely keep ahead of her pursuers. Spike breathed fire at them, but they weren't very intimidated by the baby dragon.  
With the last of her energy, Twilight turned her gaze to Canterlot and focused until her head throbbed.  
Suddenly she was in Canterlot with Spike nearly falling off her back again. She felt sick about leaving the town in peril, but she needed help from the royal guards.  
"Celestia! Luna!" she shouted, in a voice that came out a lot shriller than she had intended. She caught a glimpse of Celestia's mane in the castle window and buzzed through, nearly trimming her wings on the stone wall. Celestia stood up from where she sat at her desk and looked at her former student with wide eyes.  
"That was quite a risky move, Twilight. You could have broken your wing, or knocked Spike off your back!"  
"I need reinforcements in Ponyville, now! There are twenty five changelings flying around kidnapping townsponies!"  
Celestia flinched, and it seemed like she was about to be angry. Twilight stepped back, ears pinned flat with fear.  
Then the aurora-maned alicorn thought better of it. "I'll send a few guards your way, and I'll teleport you back. You look like you're low on magic." She gave the order to the guard standing watch outside the room. He ran off to relay the order.  
"Chrysalis's hive is in the North Mountains beyond Equestria."  
"That's near the Crystal Kingdom. I'll let Cadence know. She can send guards out to search, and I'll suggest she warn Yakyakistan as well. I can't lie to you, it doesn't look good from what I can tell. Chrysalis has made several small invasions over the years, since before you were born. I think she was testing our defenses. We underestimated her. She and her army won't be so easily defeated this time."  
"But they can be defeated," Twilight said, remembering the wedding day.  
"Yes. I have been making my own plans. Luna is maintaining the reinforced shield right now. It's time you went back and helped your friends." She looked out the window and concentrated, and in the next instant they were standing in the center of Ponyville. Celestia glanced around at the chaos and then at her pupil.  
"I have confidence in you. Manehattan needs my help. I'll check back with you later."


End file.
